To The Point - Cybersecurity

Mark Montgomery

This week, Audra is joined by Mark Montgomery, senior director of the FDD’s Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation and director of the CSC 2.0. Today’s discussion focuses on the progress made implementing the recommendations of the Cyberspace Solarium Commission’s 2020 report and securing critical infrastructure more broadly, including insights from Mark on the need for a distinct military force focused exclusively on cybersecurity.   Mark Montgomery serves as senior director of the C...

Innovation in Cybersecurity—Getting Beyond the Buzzwords with guest Audra Simons

This week Eric and Arika discuss the process of creating real innovation in cybersecurity with Audra Simons, Director of Forcepoint’s Innovations Labs. For links and resources discussed in this episode, please visit our show notes at https://www.forcepoint.com/govpodcast/e276

The Evolution of Cybersecurity from 1980 to Today w/ Former CIA Executive Mark Kelton - E015

So Many Cyber Scams with names like Pig Butchering with Jennifer Cook

Joining us this week is Jennifer Cook, Senior Director of Marketing at the National Cybersecurity Alliance and we discuss all the hot and trending online scams facing consumers today including the growing prevalence of romance scams ($1.3B in losses last year!), job seeker scams, tax fraud scams, sextortion, and the latest scam making the rounds – pig butchering scams. Jennifer shares insights on the many free resources available to consumers – and the awesome work being done by the National...

Predicting Cyber Insurance and AI Futures with Josephine Wolff

This week we dive into the hot topic of cyber insurance with Dr. Josephine Wolff, Associate Professor of Cybersecurity Policy at Tufts University The Fletcher School and author of the book “You’ll See This Message When it is Too Late: The Legal and Economic Aftermath of Cybersecurity Breaches” (MIT Press 2018). We explore the dynamic industry of cyber insurance and key policy areas such as defining cyber war, the impact of the increase of ransomware the last two years (some stats put it at 1...

"Roided-out Sitting Duck" Part Two with Juan Andres Guerrero-Saade

Want to know what this week’s episode title means? Listen to our two-part episode with Juan Andrés Guerrero Saade (aka JAGS), principal researcher at SentinelOne and Adjunct Professor of Strategic Studies at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). JAGS takes us on an exciting and educational ride through his research efforts on Moonlight Maze, one of the first widely known cyber espionage campaigns in world history, and how he came to be a featured hologram in the Inte...

Roided-out Sitting Duck Part One with Juan Andres Guerrero-Saade

Want to know what this week’s episode title means? Listen to our two-part episode with Juan Andrés Guerrero Saade (aka JAGS), principal researcher at SentinelOne and Adjunct Professor of Strategic Studies at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). JAGS takes us on an exciting and educational ride through his research efforts on Moonlight Maze, one of the first widely known cyber espionage campaigns in world history, and how he came to be a featured hologram in the Inte...

One Night in Bangkok with Greg Crabb

Buckle up for this week’s episode because it is quite a ride! Greg Crabb, founder of TenEight Cyber and former CISO for the United States Postal Service shares insights from his more than 25 years in law enforcement and bringing cyber criminals to justice. And hear perspective on CISO best practices for a 630k+ employee organization with 43k facilities and 160 million daily delivery points and how he took a 40 person cyber team to 600 in just a few years. Also learn how his team partnered wi...

Security Is A Team Sport With Leonard Bailey

This week Leonard Bailey, Head of Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section’s (CCIPS) Cybersecurity Unit for the Department of Justice (DOJ), Criminal Division, joins us this week. We dive into the role of the DOJ in addressing the vast and ever-changing landscape of cybersecurity. Bailey shares insights on partnering with federal agencies as well as the private sector, navigating information sharing pathways, evolution of incident and cyber threat reporting procedures, and the recent...

Don't Take Data from Strangers with Stacy Jones

Stacy is a self starter with a passion for cyber security. Co-Founder of Connected Transport Business Unit at Irdeto. Evangelist and active speaker on cyber security for the connected transportation space. Strong and demonstrated Stacy Janes, Head of Security at Waymo technical history in cyber security areas such as PKI, authentication/authorization, end-point security and ethical hacking. Proven history of building teams to solve difficult industry problems.  For links and resources di...

Cyber in the 21st Century, With Combiz Abdolrahimi

This week we welcome guest Combiz Abdolrahimi, a national security lawyer and Emerging Technology and Innovation Leader at Deloitte. We deep dive into today’s critical infrastructure vulnerabilities and navigating the path forward to address the threat with systems that weren’t originally designed with cybersecurity in mind. (Hint: don’t approach 21st century cyber challenges with 20th century thinking) And he shares perspective from his time in government at the U.S. Departments of State, T...

Lauren Maffeo

For links and resources discussed in this episode, please visit our show notes at https://www.forcepoint.com/govpodcast/e264

Securing Today’s Water Systems Locally and Globally with Dr David Travers

We’re excited to welcome to the podcast David Travers, Director of the Water Infrastructure and Cyber Resilience Division at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). During our discussion he addresses key themes including, why are water infrastructure systems targeted by ransomware; how cyberattacks on water systems impact the surrounding community; and the role of cyber hygiene in protecting water systems. He also shares what we like to call an “origin story” for the sometimes-wind...

Secure by Design - The Need We All Agree On with Lauren Zabierek

We’re excited to welcome to the podcast Lauren Zabierek, Senior Policy Advisor to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). She deep dives into CISA’s Secure by Design principles and approaches for secure by design software launched in April 2023 - with version two published on October 17, 2023. Lauren shares insights on the path to creation of CISA’s Secure by Design principles and how this ‘living document’ will continue to evolve in the dynamic and ever-changing landsca...

Cyber Is A Business Imperative with Ken Bible

This week we are joined by Kenneth Bible, the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) for the DHS Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO). He breaks down the National Cybersecurity Strategy Implementation Plan (NCSIP) introduced in July and provides great insights on how the plan was developed, the five key pillars of the plan, actioning each of the five elements, and the role government agencies have to play in executing against the plan and its 65 initiatives. He also provides per...

E261 - Ken Bible

For links and resources discussed in this episode, please visit our show notes at https://www.forcepoint.com/govpodcast/e261

It’s All In the (Deepfake) Experience with Siwei Lyu

Dr. Siwei Lyu, SUNY Empire Innovation Professor at the University at Buffalo Dr. Siwei Lyu received his B.S. degree (Information Science) in 1997 and his M.S. degree (Computer Science) in 2000, both from Peking University, China. He received his Ph.D. degree in Computer Science from Dartmouth College in 2005. From 1998 to 2000, he worked at the Founder Research and Development Center (Beijing, China) as a Software Engineer. From 2000 to 2001, he worked at Microsoft Research Asia (then Micro...

Privacy Not Included, And What You Can Do About It with Zoe Macdonald

This week we deep dive into privacy with Mozilla Foundation’s Privacy Not Included content creator Zoë MacDonald. She shares fascinating insights from the deep research the *Privacy Not Included team undertakes to assess just how private is your data when using popular apps, driving in your connected car, etc. It was quite eye opening just how little privacy there is for connected car owners – giving up all kinds of privacy in the name of modern convenience. In fact, Zoë breaks down how and ...

The Spark of an AI Article in 1983 with Mikko Hypponen

We’re excited to welcome back to the podcast global security expert, speaker and author Mikko Hypponen who currently serves as Chief Research Officer at WithSecure. We dive into his book “If It’s Smart, It’s Vulnerable”  and how cybersecurity has evolved and changed in the last year since it was published. He also shines a light on the ever-present topic of AI – the opportunity, risks, emerging regulations, deepfakes, geopolitical attack capabilities and so much more! And we talk about his r...

Nobody Wants to Fight, But Someone Needs to Know How with Andrew Borene

Andrew Borene, Executive Director at Flashpoint joins the podcast this week. He brings a wealth of insights on today’s state of international security affairs gleaned from his many years in the U.S. Intelligence community, and leading private sector intelligence teams. We cover hot topics including collaboration on international cybersecurity policies, NATO’s cyber defense capabilities and challenges in achieving unified, alliance-wide cybersecurity policies. We also double click into today’...

Exploring Digital Inequity Realities And Impact on Schools and Students with Keith Krueger

This week Keith Krueger, CEO of the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN), joins the podcast. He shares insights on the digital inequities that exist across schools and students and the challenges they create at a time when connectivity should be a basic right for all. We also dive into the digital inequity impact on cybersecurity for school districts today – and the free resources and tools such as the CoSN developed digital equity dashboard that identifies equity gaps across school distr...

Navigating The New SEC Cyber Regulations with Rich Itri

We are excited to welcome back to the podcast Rich Itri, Chief Innovation Officer at ECI. He joined us last year during the commentary period of the new SEC cyber rules to break down what’s being proposed and potential implications for businesses. And in this podcast the conversation comes full circle as the new SEC cyber rules are coming online and act as official recognition that the ever-present danger of cybersecurity threats can impact investor decision making. We talk through some of t...

What Natural Disasters Can Teach Us About Cyber Attack Response with Dr. Samantha Ravich

Dr. Samantha Ravich, Chairman for the Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation at Foundation for Defense of Democracies joins the podcast this week. She shares insights from her many years on the geopolitical and economic front lines of cyber, and work with many renowned government leaders, on developing a plan of action to address today’s cyber threat landscape and looming threat against critical infrastructure and essential services. She also provides perspective on building resiliency, w...

Secure Our World: Not Just a Moment, It’s a Movement with Eric Goldstein

Kicking off the 20th Annual Cybersecurity Awareness Month, we welcome back to the podcast Eric Goldstein, Executive Assistant Director for Cybersecurity for the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). He shares insights on the exciting new cybersecurity public awareness campaign just launched, “Secure Our World”. It features simple ways to protect yourself, your family, and your business from online threats. Eric also shares some key takeawa...

Ransomware Evolution: From Business Nuisance to National Security Threat with Megan Stifel

This week, Audra is joined by Megan Stifel, chief strategy officer for the Institute for Security and Technology, to discuss how ransomware has evolved from a business nuisance to now a threat to national security. Megan also shares how the United States' overall response to ransomware has the potential to impact the types of attacks faced by its organizations and touches on the need for greater transparency when it comes to international cyber information sharing. Megan Stifel is the Chie...

The Democratization of Data Science Tools with David Bader

Joining us this week is Dr. David Bader, a Distinguished Professor and founder of the Department of Data Science in the Ying Wu College of Computing and Director of the Institute for Data Science at New Jersey Institute of Technology. He deep dives into the opportunity to democratize data science tools and the awesome free tool he and Mike Merrill spent the last several years building that can be found on the Bears-R-Us GitHub page open to the public. We also discuss the vulnerabilities in o...

Cyber Attackers and The Powerful Allure of School Systems with Julia Fallon

This week we’re joined by Julia Fallon, Executive Director of the State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA) and she shines a light on the appeal of school systems to cyber attackers. (HINT: it is access to PII to open credit cards, mortgages and more in the name of children that often is only detected many years later.) We also discuss the connection between schools and insurance companies, trends in how school systems are fortifying their security measures, the evolution of...

Talking Insider Threat Awareness with Bill Evanina

Bill Evanina, Founder and CEO of the Evanina Group and former Director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center Office of the Director of National Intelligence, joins the podcast this week to take a deep dive view into insider threat as September is Insider Threat Awareness Month. He shares insights from his many years on the counterintelligence and security front lines on what defines insider threat (Note: harm to self or others), the opportunities and challenges in available...

Cyber Safety is Patient Safety with Joshua Corman, Part II

We pick back up with Joshua Corman, founder of grass roots organization I Am the Cavalry, for part two of our discussion. Josh shares insights from his many years on the healthcare cyber front lines and provides both a captivating and sobering perspective on the state of healthcare security today. And while there have been many strides forward, we still have a long way to go. Audra and I learned so much during our discussion including themes such as cyber asbestos, the emerging care desert, ...

Cyber Safety is Patient Safety with Joshua Corman Part 1

We had so much to talk about with this week’s guest that we made it a two-part episode! Joining us this week, and next week, is Joshua Corman, founder of grass roots organization I Am the Cavalry. Josh shares insights from his many years on the healthcare cyber front lines and provides both a captivating and sobering perspective on the state of healthcare security today. And while there have been many strides forward, we still have a long way to go. Audra and I learned so much during our dis...

The Radical Transparency Opportunity in Cybersecurity with Sudhakar Ramakrishna

We’re excited to welcome back to the podcast Sudhakar Ramakrishna, CEO at SolarWinds. When we first caught up with Sudhakar it was several months into his tenure at the company managing through the Sunburst attack. We were so impressed with how he was helping navigate the company through this time we wanted to check in with him more than a year later for an update on how things are going. He shares insights on the company’s Secure by Design initiative, radical transparency, the power of publ...

The Cyber Satellite Threat with Mark Montgomery

This week on the podcast, we’re joined by Mark Montgomery, senior director of the FDD’s Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation and director of the CSC 2.0. Mark shares about the different physical and cyber threats faced by satellites and space networks. He also shares considerations for classifying satellites as critical infrastructure and what the legislation required to do so might look like.   Mark Montgomery serves as senior director of the Center on Cyber and Technology Innovati...

What makes a smart city, um, smart? with Chris Teale

After nearly 300 episodes we have had some of the most spectacular guests on the podcast! Every once in a while we like to bring back one of our favorite episodes from the archives because we really enjoyed the conversation and think our new listeners will as well. This week we chat on the complexities and opportunities smart cities can deliver in the US and around the globe with guest Chris Teale, reporter at Smart Cities Dive. He’s spent years meeting with government and community leaders ...

Cyber Poverty Line, Budget Dust and Today’s Security Realities with Chad McDonald

This week we welcome to the podcast Chad McDonald, Chief of Staff and CISO at Radiant Logic. He talks about the very interesting and real reality of what is becoming known as the cyber poverty line and the security vulnerabilities that funding and resource inequities can create in a supply chain and elsewhere. He also shares insights for organizations to assess where they fall on the spectrum and resources available to identify and address security gaps relative to their business. We also di...

AI Doesn't Respect National Borders with Nicolas Chaillan

This week we are so excited to have Nic Chaillan, founder and CEO of http://AskSage.ai join the podcast for a discussion on the explosion AI and the many implications that come with that for government and businesses. He shares insights on AI regulation – both what’s underway and considerations that should be undertaken when shaping how AI is regulated – it is no quick and easy fix! And then there is the flip side of regulation – does it stifle innovation – particularly when AI is in its inf...

Securing Electric Vehicles in the Federal Fleet and More! with Matt Bianco

We absolutely love when we have return guests on the podcast. And we are so excited to have Matt Bianco, President of FedWay Consulting joining us again to talk about one of our favorite topics – electric vehicles (EV). Or, more specifically, the move to electric vehicles across the federal government. The Biden Administration has set a goal of a 100% electrified fleet by 2027. Matt shares insights on progress being made to date and what the next few years look like to achieve the goal. We a...

Anticipation and Preparation The Science Behind Cyber Threat Intelligence with Dmitry Bestuzhev Part 2

Joining the podcast this week is Dmitry Bestuzhev, senior director of cyber threat intelligence (CTI) at Blackberry. He gives Petko an inside look into the key types of CTI and how the insights can be used to build context and determine response in specific circumstances, such as in the recent case of attempted targets at NATO. Dmitry also turns our attention to the risks posed by public charging stations - a ploy dubbed “Juice Jacking.”   Dmitry Bestuzhev, Senior Director CTI at BlackBe...

Anticipation and Preparation The Science Behind Cyber Threat Intelligence with Dmitry Bestuzhev

Joining the podcast this week is Dmitry Bestuzhev, senior director of cyber threat intelligence (CTI) at Blackberry. He gives Petko an inside look into the key types of CTI and how the insights can be used to build context and determine response in specific circumstances, such as in the recent case of attempted targets at NATO. Dmitry also turns our attention to the risks posed by public charging stations - a ploy dubbed “Juice Jacking.”   Dmitry Bestuzhev, Senior Director CTI at BlackBe...

Finland Joins NATO The Cyber Perspective with Juhani Hintikka

Juhani Hintikka, President and CEO of WithSecure joins the podcast this week to discuss Finland’s status as the newest member of NATO as of April 4, 2023. As many know this is a significant geopolitical move in the region, particularly when we remember Finland shares an 832-mile border with Russia, the longest of any European Union member. He provides perspective on speculation that such a move could increase the country’s cyber risks and shares insights on Finland’s key role in digital defe...

Lawyers Who Think Like Coders with Ilona Cohen

Joining the podcast this week is Ilona Cohen, the Chief Legal Officer, Chief Policy Officer, and Corporate Secretary at HackerOne. We dive into hot topics including the National Cyber Strategy, how government organizations can manage priorities, what lessons can be learned from the past and the “voluntary” reporting and compliance approach, along with breaking down the myriad funding pathways and allocations to truly make the National Cyber Strategy a reality. She also shares perspective on ...

Is This The Dreadnought Moment with Dr. Andrew Hammond (Rerun)

Back from the archives! We loved our discussion with Dr. Andrew Hammond, Historian and Curator of the International Spy Museum so much that we brought it back for your enjoyment this week! Hammond takes us through the classic period of espionage and the reliance on physical data and spycraft techniques to transport through to the modern day battlefield of cyber intelligence and espionage. And he provides insights on the historical throughlines of attacks that haven’t really changed over the ...

Eyes Everywhere: The Importance of Continuous AppSec Scanning Vandenberg With Patrick

For this week’s episode of the podcast, we’re joined by Patrick Vandenberg, director of product marketing at Invicti Security. Patrick helps us unpack the reasons behind why 70% of security incidents start from web applications and talks us through the importance of application security and dynamic application security testing (DAST). Patrick also touches on where the future of application security testing may be heading and how scanning varies across industries. Patrick Vandenberg, Direct...

The Cyberbalanced Diet with Javvad Malik

Joining us this week is Javvad Malik, Security Awareness Advocate at KnowBe4. We cover an array of themes including the need to “protect the seams”, understanding where risks are moving, how small interventions can deliver quick security wins, understanding people in the security equation and the importance of cybersecurity training, the AI debate, smishing attacks, and more! Javvad Malik is a Security Awareness Advocate at KnowBe4, a blogger event speaker and industry commentator who is p...

The Cyber Mentality with Katie Arrington, Part III

Joining the podcast this week is Katie Arrington is the founder of LD Innovations, LLC Cybersecurity and the former Chief Information Security Officer for Acquisition and Sustainment (CISO(A&S)) to the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment (USD(A&S)). We cover many interesting themes in our lively discussion including Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC), the impact of a cyber mentality and culture, the National Cybersecurity Strategy, the CHIPS Act, risk re...

The Cyber Mentality with Katie Arrington Part 2

Joining the podcast this week is Katie Arrington is the founder of LD Innovations, LLC Cybersecurity and the former Chief Information Security Officer for Acquisition and Sustainment (CISO(A&S)) to the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment (USD(A&S)). We cover many interesting themes in our lively discussion including Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC), the impact of a cyber mentality and culture, the National Cybersecurity Strategy, the CHIPS Act, risk re...

The Cyber Mentality with Katie Arrington

Joining the podcast this week is Katie Arrington is the founder of LD Innovations, LLC Cybersecurity and the former Chief Information Security Officer for Acquisition and Sustainment (CISO(A&S)) to the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment (USD(A&S)). We cover many interesting themes in our lively discussion including Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC), the impact of a cyber mentality and culture, the National Cybersecurity Strategy, the CHIPS Act, risk re...

Decoys, Canaries....it's all Deception Technology to Me with Greg Edwards

Joining the podcast this week is Canauri founder and CTO, Greg Edwards. He gives us a deep dive view into deception technology including decoys, canaries, watcher files, deception technology defense, and how it helps organizations fare against ransomware attacks. We also discuss the growing ransomware problem and its recent designation by the White House as a “national security threat”. And we hit on many of your favorite topics including educating Boards on security and how to define securi...

With Software, Hope Is A Strategy with Jonathan Knudsen Part 2

Joining us this week is Jonathan Knudsen, Head of Global Research for the CyRC, cybersecurity research center, at Synopsys Inc. To understand the vulnerability landscape in software, you have to first understand how software is made. Jonathan shares insights on software development and where vulnerabilities (or many, many vulnerabilities) can be integrated in the final product. (Although software is never really, final, is it?) And as we round out March Madness for 2023, he shares some sober...

With Software, Hope Is A Strategy with Jonathan Knudsen

Joining us this week is Jonathan Knudsen, Head of Global Research for the CyRC, cybersecurity research center, at Synopsys Inc. To understand the vulnerability landscape in software, you have to first understand how software is made. Jonathan shares insights on software development and where vulnerabilities (or many, many vulnerabilities) can be integrated in the final product. (Although software is never really, final, is it?) And as we round out March Madness for 2023, he shares some sober...

Get Comfortable Being Uncomfortable In Security and Your Professional Life with Maria Roat Part II

We’re excited to welcome back to the podcast Maria Roat, founder of MA Roat Consulting and former U.S. Deputy Federal Chief Information Officer. For our discussion we double click into the cyber workforce gap and how to attract diverse skillsets to the industry, introducing STEM earlier in education, understanding how to nurture non-traditional learners and the awesome experience veterans bring to supporting the cyber mission. She also shares insights from her decades of experience as an IT ...